Keep Your Powder Dry!

Part 2: Early
Modern Firearms
A
s innovation marches on,

crude early firearms

give way to muskets and pistols

that are easier to use and finally

replace bows and crossbows as

the ranged weapons of choice on

the battlefield. This article takes

a look at the second generation

of firearms developed in the early

modern period.

Firearms Ascendant
Firearms became much easier to use in the
period between 1500 and 1700 CE. The
muskets that replaced the heavy harquebus
were more easily held and fired thanks to
advancements in design that allowed for
smaller bullets without reducing damage. writing Walt Ciechanowski
The fickle match was replaced with new color art Indi Martin
mechanisms (starting with the wheellock editing James J. Haeck
and culminating with the flintlock) that layout Eric Life-Putnam

EN World EN5IDER | Early Modern Firearms

created their own sparks by striking steel to
pyrite. Soldiers no longer had to worry about
strong winds or excessive rain preventing their
guns from firing.
Tactics changed accordingly. Armies made
up for the slow rate of fire by grouping
harquebusiersand later musketeerstogether
in lines so that they could rotate their fire
patterns. Harquebusiers were accompanied by
pikemen that could keep enemies at bay while the
harquebusier reloaded. Later, the development of
the bayonet alleviated the need for pikemen.
The development of hand blunderbusses and
pistols also changed the face of warfare. Those
who could afford them often carried a brace
of pistols, or several loaded pistols worn on
the body to be used in quick succession. Hand
blunderbusses and pistols could also be easily
used on horseback, making firearms cavalry
weapons as well. The lance-bearing armored
knight evolved into the pistol-wielding dragoon.
Flintlocks and Fantasy
Historically, the evolution of firearms coincided
with the end of medieval tactics. Practical armor
disappeared and fencing swords and knives
became the dominant melee weapons. While this
could certainly point towards a swashbuckling
feel in a fantasy campaign (and theres a lot of fun
to be had in a fantastical age of musketeers and
pirates!) that need not be the case. Many fantasy
worlds have had potent and prolific magics on
the battlefield without eliminating the armored
knight or axe and shield-wielding warriors.
Conversely, even fantasy campaigns with a high
medieval feel often accommodate rapier-wielding
duelists who historically didnt appear until well
after firearms became ubiquitous.
Keeping Your Powder Dry
Matchlocks are very susceptible to the weather. If
gunpowder gets wet (or even just damp), then it
is rendered inert until it dries (prestidigitation will
keep gunpowder clean). Lighting a match is difficult
in the rain and keeping it lit is a challenge in windy
conditions. While later firearms have done away
with the match, they are still wont fire if loaded
with wet gunpowder. If any of these conditions play
a factor then the GM can either impose disadvan-
tage on the attack roll or, in really bad weather, also
disallow the use of matchlocks absent magic or
creative thinking to overcome it.
In short, the rules mechanics support either
style. Musket-wielding rangers can walk side-by-
side with mace-wielding clerics clad in chainmail
and longbow-wielding elven fighters if you wish
to include firearms as a potent but short-range
alternative to other ranged weapons, or you can
go all-in and design your fantasy world with a
17th century aesthetic, with swashbuckling, pistol-
wielding fighters and rogues being the dominant
martial classes. Either way, firearms can add a lot
of flavor to your campaign!
Firearm Descriptions
Blunderbuss. This short musket has a flared
barrel and is designed to fire shot rather than
bullets. Unlike a hand cannon, blunderbusses
require specially-made pellets rather than using
whatevers at hand. In a pinch, a blunderbuss can
be loaded with improvised shot, but its damage
is reduced to 2d4 and until the gun is cleaned
during a short rest, any misfire result breaks the
barrel (as the improvised shot has compromised
it). In melee the blunderbuss may be used as a
two-handed club dealing 1d6 damage.

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The game rule information in this article is designated Open Game Content. All of the other material in this article,
including maps and illustrations (including illustrations in the public domain), narrative and descriptive
text, character and place names, trade dress, EN Publishing, ENWorld, EN5ider, EN Publishing EN
product and article titles, and ENWorld and EN Publishing logos, are designated Product Identity. Publishing

Early
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Simple Ranged Weapons
Name Cost1 Damage Weight Properties2,3
Blunderbuss 250 gp special 8 lb. Ammunition (range 20/60), loading, loud, misfire,
shot(2d6 piercing), two-handed
Gun Shield 250 gp 1d10 piercing 7 lb. Ammunition (range 20/60), loud, match loading, misfire
Hand Blunderbuss 175 gp special 2 lb. Ammunition (range 10/30), loading, loud, misfire,
shot(2d4 piercing)
Hybrid Pistol 250 gp 1d10 piercing Var. Ammunition (range 20/60), loading, loud, misfire
Matchlock Musket 200 gp 1d12 piercing 10 lb. Ammunition (range 40/120), loud, match loading, misfire,
two-handed
Matchlock Pistol 150 gp 1d10 piercing 2 lb. Ammunition (range 20/60), loud, match loading, misfire
Musket 300 gp 1d12 piercing 10 lb. Ammunition (range 40/120), loading, loud, misfire,
twohanded
Pistol 200 gp 1d10 piercing 2 lb. Ammunition (range 20/60), loading, loud, misfire
1 Costs are for settings where such firearms are commonly available. The GM should feel free to increase the cost if the weapons are sufficiently rare; in
some settings they may even be considered priceless magic items!
2 New properties are described in Keep Your Powder Dry! Part 1: Firearms for Fantasy Campaigns*
3 Wheellocks are prone to misfire more often than other types of firearms. The wheellock version of this weapon misfires on a d20 roll of 1 or 2 when mak-
ing a ranged attack.

Hand Blunderbuss. A hand blunderbuss
(commonly called a dragon in our world,
probably not so much in a fantasy setting with
real dragons!) is a one-handed blunderbuss
and can use improvised shot like a regular
blunderbuss, but its improvised damage is
reduced to 1d4. In melee the hand blunderbuss
may be used as a club dealing 1d4 damage.
Gun Shield. This is a defensive version of a
hybrid pistolthe pistol is built directly into
the shield. A standard shield pistol requires two
hands to use (one to hold the shield and the
other to fire the gun), although an enterprising
gunsmith could create a trigger that could be
pulled by the hand holding the shield.
A gun shield can be crafted using a hand
blunderbuss instead of a pistol; the cost is the
same but the mechanics of the hand blunderbuss
are substituted for the gun shields in combat.
* Get Part 1: Walt Ciechanowski, Keep Your Powder Dry! Part 1:
Firearms for Fantasy Campaigns, EN World EN5ider,
https://www.patreon.com/posts/7797923
Hybrid Pistol. With the introduction of the
wheellock it became easier to meld firearms
specifically the pistolwith melee weapons,
particularly one-handed ones. The pistol is built
into the hilt of a melee weapon in such a way as
not to compromise the integrity of the weapon.
The weapon may be fired as a pistol or wielded in
melee as a regular melee weapon of its type.
Matchlock Musket. The matchlock musket
is an improvement on the earlier harquebus.
While its weight is unchanged, it fires smaller
bullets with greater accuracy and can be easily
handled by anyone trained to use it. In melee the
matchlock musket may be used as a two-handed
club dealing 1d6 damage.
Matchlock Pistol. This early one-handed
firearm has the same weather problems of its
musket counterpart, although it does allow a
creature to use it and draw and fight with another
weapon in its off-hand. If you fire more than one
matchlock pistol in the same round, then you
have disadvantage on all ranged attacks due to
the awkwardness of lighting and firing so quickly.
In melee the matchlock pistol may be used as a
club dealing 1d4 damage.

EN World EN5IDER | Early Modern Firearms

 Musket. This weapon dispenses the need for
a match; pulling the trigger creates a spark that
lights the gunpowder. Thus, muskets arent as
vulnerable to inclement weather as the earlier
matchlock muskets. In melee the musket may be
used as a two-handed club dealing 1d6 damage.
Pistol. This is a one-handed version of the
musket and shares all of its features save range. In
melee the pistol may be used as a club dealing 1d4
damage.
Equipment and
Customization
All of the equipment and options listed under
Gunpowder and Ammunition and Customizing
Firearms in Part 1 (see footnote on previous
page) are available for the firearms contained in
this article. In addition, there are a few new and
amended options listed here.
Ammunition, shot (20). Blunderbusses and
hand blunderbusses require specially-made
pellets that make up a load of shot. Each shot of
pellets is effectively the same as a bullet in terms
of price and weight. 1 gp. 2 lb.
Bayonet. You can turn your musket into a spear
by plugging a long knife into the end of the barrel.
Since affixing the bayonet requires some time, a
musket may not be fired and used as a spear in
the same round, although you may freely switch
between them each round. (Historically, socket
bayonets werent common until the 18th century,
although an enterprising gunsmith might develop
one earlier.)
Double Barrel. It is possible to purchase
muskets and pistols (including matchlocks and
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Wheellock Firearms
Wheellock firearms predate flintlocks by about a
century (although some proto-flintlocks, such
as the snapchance, were invented a few decades
earlier) and, while they had a huge advantage
over matchlocks, wheellocks were far more dif-
ficult to construct and maintain. Thus the cheaper
matchlock remained in service until the more
cost-effective flintlocks finally phased them
out. The Weapons table does not distinguish
between flintlocks and wheellocks as there is little
mechanical difference between them in combat;
the blunderbuss description, for example, could
be used for wheellock blunderbusses as well as
flintlock blunderbusses.
There is some debate whether wheellocks were
actually faster than flintlocks. While this difference
would be negligible in a 6-second round, a GM
might decide to give wheellocks an edge, making
it an aristocratic weapon of choice even after the
introduction of flintlocks. In this case, wheellocks
do not have the loading property (enabling them to
be fired more than once per round). In this case, a
wheellock would command double or triple the cost
of its flintlock counterpart.
the harquebus) with two barrels. A double-
barreled firearm costs 1 times its original price
and weighs nearly twice as much. A double-
barreled musket also has the heavy property.
Double-barreled firearms with the loading
property can be fired twice before reloading.
A misfire generally only fouls one barrel; the
other may be used normally until it too misfires.
Rifling. Firearms that do 1d12 damage do 2d6
damage instead with a rifled barrel.
ENWorld EN5IDER
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New Magic Items
This section lists three magic items that appear
along with firearms. Their rarity depends on how
common firearms are in your campaign.
Adamantine Bullet
Weapon (bullet), uncommon
These bullets are made of adamantine, one of
the hardest substances in existence. Attacks with
adamantine bullets score critical hits on rolls of 19
or 20 (if you normally score a critical hit on a 19 or
lower, then the adamantine bullet scores a critical
hit on lower die results on a 1-for-1 basis; for
example, if you normally score a critical hit on a
19 or 20 then the adamantine bullet scores one on a
roll of 18, 19, or20).
If you fire an adamantine bullet at a creature
wearing adamantine armor, then you only score
a critical hit when you normally would (a roll of
20 for most creatures) but the adamantine armor
does not downgrade the critical hit.
Adamantine bullets are typically cast in groups
of 20.
Dragons Breath Shot
Weapon (shot), rare
When you fill your blunderbuss or hand
blunderbuss with this shot, it fires a cone of
energy similar to a particular dragons breath
weapon rather than doing its normal damage.
Dragons breath shot does 8d6 damage of the
appropriate energy type. Creatures may make
a saving throw against the shot as normal
(including having advantage at long range), but a
successful save still causes half damage.
There are five types of dragons breath shot: black
(acid), blue (lightning), green (poison), red (fire),
and white (cold). Each type is easily identifiable
by the color of the pellets in the shot.
EN World EN5IDER | Early Modern Firearms
The Proclaimer
Weapon (any musket or pistol), very rare (requires
attunement by a cleric)
This firearm is dedicated to and blessed by
a particular deity. You gain a +2 on attack and
damage rolls made with this magic weapon (the
Proclaimer automatically misfires if an unattuned
creature tries to use it). When you hit an undead
with it, you do an extra 2d8 radiant damage.
The Proclaimer also has 7 charges. If you are
a cleric dedicated to that deity (or on otherwise
friendly terms if not worshiping that particular
deity), then you may expend one of the charges
when making a ranged attack with the Proclaimer
against an undead creature. If the bullet hits, then
in addition to the ammunitions normal damage
that creature and all undead within 30 feet of
it are affected as if you had used your Channel
Divinity: Turn Undead class feature (this does not
count as a use of your Channel Divinity).
The Proclaimer regains 1d6 + 1 charges daily
at dawn. If you expend the last charge, roll a d20.
On a 1, the Proclaimer loses its magic. You must
perform some service for your deity in order
to be deemed worthy to have the Proclaimer
restored. e